LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s blue-chip share index
gave up early gains for a third straight session on Tuesday and
dropped back from record highs as prospects for a takeover of
Smith & Nephew dimmed and its shares slumped.

Smith and Nephew fell 5.7 percent to 1,144p after U.S. firm
Stryker announced a $2 billion share buyback programme,
making it increasingly unlikely it would consider a bid for the
UK medical equipment firm, traders said.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s blue-chip share index
gave up early gains for a third straight session on Tuesday to
drop back from record highs, led lower in mid-session trading as
M&A hopes for Smith & Nephew dissipated.

Smith and Nephew slumped 5.2 percent to 1,137p after U.S.
firm Stryker announced a $2 billion share buyback
programme, making it increasingly unlikely they would consider a
bid for the UK medical equipment firm, traders said.

LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) – Britain’s blue-chip share index
gave up early gains for a third straight session on Tuesday,
dropping back from record highs, as Glencore and
Barclays weighed on the market after earnings releases.

Barclays fell 3.3 percent after saying it had set
aside an extra 750 million pounds ($1.15 billion) for potential
fines arising from allegations of manipulation in the foreign
exchange market. Its annual profits rose 12 percent, thanks to a
sharp cut in costs.

LONDON/PARIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) – European shares rose on
Friday, building on their best start to the year since regional
benchmarks began in late 1986, to close at seven-year highs,
supported by encouraging earnings reports.

Shares in Airbus were up 7.2 percent after it
posted a rise in operating earnings and announced its biggest
ever dividend. The company was the most heavily
weighted gainer on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300.

PARIS/LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) – European shares dipped on
Friday , pausing after their best start to the year since
regional benchmarks began in late 1986, while Airbus
was boosted by a strong earnings report.

Shares in Airbus were up 6.6 percent after it posted a sharp
rise in operating earnings. The rise represented a gain in
market value of over 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), roughly
the price of six A380 superjumbos.

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – A fall in the shares of publisher
Reed Elsevier and Royal Bank of Scotland held
Britain’s top equity index in check on Thursday, although the
market remained near record highs hit this week.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was flat at 6,934.63
points towards midday, still close to the record 6,958.89 points
reached on Tuesday.

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index edged higher on Thursday following a spate of mixed earnings reports, supported by the banking sector as the market welcomed the announcement of a new CEO of Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

The Asian-focussed bank rose 2.8 percent, the top FTSE 100 gainer, after it said former JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) investment bank boss Bill Winters will take over as chief executive in June to replace embattled boss Peter Sands.

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index edged
higher on Thursday following a spate of mixed earnings reports,
supported by the banking sector as the market welcomed the
announcement of a new CEO of Standard Chartered.

The Asian-focussed bank rose 2.8 percent, the top FTSE 100
gainer, after it said former JPMorgan investment bank
boss Bill Winters will take over as chief executive in June to
replace embattled boss Peter Sands.

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Britain’s top share index
retreated from the previous session’s record high on Wednesday,
with engineer Weir Group leading the market lower after warning
about a significant drop in its revenue in the current year.

Weir Group, which makes valves and pumps for the
energy and mining industries, fell nearly 9 percent to the
bottom of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index after saying
uncertainty in the oil and gas industry would significantly
reduce its revenue despite cost-cutting.